Dimension: Orbis Terrarum II
Planet: Helios
Specific Location: The Burnt Wastelands
Time: Two Centuries after the Great Rebellion
Samuel Dellor desperately dragged his body through the ash and dust up to the body of his friend Tiffany Neveu. Reaching forwards, he shook the body as he gasped out, "Tiffany? Tiffany!"
Tiffany Neveu was dead. Samuel gave something between a gasp and a sob. He hadn't meant this to happen. All he had wanted to do was get away from people, and now it had all ended with his best friend getting killed.
It hadn't started this way: After the era of Anarchy had grown too intense, 17-year-old Samuel Dellor and 18-year-old Tiffany Neveu fled from the chaos. By pure luck they ended up in the My Little Pony dimension in Fillydelphia. Samuel settled down and made a home for himself, pointedly ignoring Tiffany, his neighbors, and those who wished to get to know him. He did this for about a year. Then Joseph Torrus arrived. In less than a year he had turned the whole world upside-down, and Samuel hated it. He found Tiffany and asked her if they would like to go adventuring once more, to find a quieter, more secluded place where violence and hatred had never touched. Tiffany suggested the Looking For Group dimension. Samuel liked this idea, and so they set off… Unfortunately, they were immediately caught up in a war between a cartel of interdimensional mercenaries and a demon clan. Not wishing to be killed by either side, Samuel and Tiffany were forced to join the mercenary cartel and fight in the war for a year… and it all led up to this. With both legs broken, Tiffany dead, and demons running amok across the burning surface of Helios.
"No… Tiffany… All I wanted to do is be safe, you didn't have to die for me," gasped 19-year-old Samuel as he tried to get up to no avail. His legs were broken. Suddenly the sound of footsteps behind him caused him to whirl around and bring up a tornado of acid and caustic chemicals. However, in his pained and taxed state, the tornado faltered and dissipated to reveal five demons. They laughed at him.
"Oh no," hissed the tallest one, the leader, "It looks like Samuel Dellor is all out of options."
Giving a retching gasp, Samuel called upon his reserves and hurled a blast of concentrated Hydrochloric acid. It burned right through one of the demon's head. All the leader did was laugh as Samuel collapsed, breathing raggedly.
"Oh well, at least you get one last kill to your name, not that anybody will remember it," the demon leader snarled, "Any last words?"
"Go to hell," gasped Samuel.
The leader paused and blinked. "Ironic," he said as he conjured up a demonic blade. He approached Samuel and prepared to stab him.
All of a sudden, a bright light blinded everyone's vision for a moment. When the light cleared, the demons hissed with horror: Before them was a human with wings, golden armor, an elaborate helmet, and a long double-handed sword that was glowing with archaic celestial runes on its side. It was an angel.
"Back away demons, he is not yours to take," the angel said calmly.
The demons leader hissed, "What gives you the right to take our prey?! We are free to feast upon the fallen!"
"But he is not a fallen one, Paimon. Run back to your master and tell him that heaven is most amused with how well he handled being lied to by the Paradox."
Paimon screeched and signaled to his companions. They rushed the angel. In less than a second, the angel had decapitated three, and blasted the fourth with a bolt of celestial energy. The angel let the dust settle for a moment before placing the sword in its strap and floating over to where Samuel lay, gasping for breath.
Samuel looked at the angel and said, "I thought… that angels… never left the celestial heaven anymore…"
The angel lightly tapped Samuel's legs, healing them immediately.
"We didn't, until now," said the angel, "heaven is very displeased with the Paradox, so we are preparing to apprehend him. Like a police force would do to a petty thief."
"The Paradox… what?" gasped Samuel, who was convinced that he was hallucinating. No one had ever seen an angel in their true form for millennia, and the Paradox was his leader, why had they branded him as a petty criminal?
"It is not important yet," explained the angel, "We need to get you out of here though, before more demons come. I cannot vanquish them and protect you at the same time."
The angel helped Samuel to his feet and then snapped a finger. A portal to the planes of Rohan in the Lord of the Rings dimension opened, and the two stepped through.
"Who are you?" said Samuel as he stumbled into the dimension.
"I am archangel Michael," said the angel, "I am here to scout out the situation in this multiverse. The Paradox must be stopped and I need to find a way to do it."
"You keep speaking of the Paradox committing a felony or something, what do you mean?"
"The Paradox has done many things over the past couple of eons. In fact, just recently, in the My Little Pony dimension, he attempted to activate the tree of Harmony, a cleverly hidden weapon of mass destruction designed to end all life in this multiverse."
"The My Little Pony dimension? Impossible."
"That is right; you hail from there, do you not?"
"Well, sort of."
"Of course, you come from Earth Prime, but then came to the My Little Pony dimension in an attempt to escape everyone you ever knew… so you could wipe out the terrible memories of the civil war waging between your fellow travelers."
"How do you know this?"
"I am an archangel. I know everything."
Samuel shook his head and sat down. "Then why didn't you save Tiffany?" he mumbled.
Michael actually sat down next to Samuel and placed a gold-wrought hand on his shoulder. Something that had not happened for pretty much forever.
This contact sent bolts of tingling bolts of hope and happiness searing through Samuel's nervous system as Michael imparted a little bit of light.
"Fate decided otherwise, Samuel," said Michael calmly, "She was chosen to move on."
Samuel buried his face in his hands and moaned, "What am I going to do now? My only friend is…"
His voice caught. He took a shaking breath and continued, "My only friend is dead, and I am pretty much alone."
"You're not alone, Samuel, the Paradox just wants you to think so," replied Michael, "The traveler database has been tampered with. Look up the Abimael 'James' Sethson."
Samuel did so. "The firstborn is dead," he said as he checked the database, "He died in an ambush in the Warhammer 40K dimension."
"And that's where it's wrong," said Michael, "The firstborn arrived in the My Little Pony dimension a year after you left."
"Well, I couldn't care less, Michael. I don't care if the Paradox is evil, or if anyone is still even alive. I need to get away. Far away. Is there a place where I could hide and never be found?"
"You cannot run from your troubles, Samuel, you need to face them. We give strength to those who need it; for you are never tested outside what you can resist."
Samuel conjured up a small globule of caustic chemicals and levitated in front of him. He began to toss it in the air and contort the shape as he sighed, "I don't know. I just want to run. I've fought my fair share of demons for seven years now. I don't want to fight anymore. I just want to have peace."
"Peace will come, but right now the multiverse needs you for who you are: a hero."
"A hero? That's a laugh. There is no such thing."
"Then perhaps you need to talk to Joseph Torrus."
"Sunset Shadow? He's a maniac."
"You obviously didn't pay enough to what Torrus did: he brought peace and happiness to the dimension."
"There was enough peace, he was just a reminder of the horrors I've fought over my life. Do you know of Jahi?"
"The she-demon of the satanic prison? Yes. She was present in the first heaven-hell war."
"I killed her. With my bare hands." At that moment, Samuel's voice broke and he buried his head in his hands again.
Michael sighed. "I understand that you've gone through so much, but you need to find it within yourself to go out once more. I too have fought monstrosities. In the first heaven-hell war, I was the one who vanquished the Grand Devil, but that doesn't matter now. You need to return to the My Little Pony dimension once more. Heaven needs you to be there right now."
"Heaven needs me there? Why?"
"The Paradox has his plan, we have ours. Now it is just a matter of time to see who is smarter: Us, or the Paradox and his Brotherhood. Go now, I will join you soon."
"You're coming with me?"
"Wherever Joseph Torrus shows up, something important seems to happen in close proximity. He is incredibly important to this multiverse, and I have been instructed to accompany him for whatever is left of his journey."
"I… I think I understand. But I don't want to do it. I don't want to return. I hate everyone."
"You need to."
Samuel Dellor sighed snuffed out the ball of caustic material he was toying with. He then got up and opened a portal. He glanced back to Michael as he shifted into his pony form: Yellow coat, ragged dark green mane, pale blue eyes, short and skinny, a film-burned infinity cutie mark.
He trotted through the portal and it closed behind him. Michael stared at the spot where the portal had been a moment before and shook his head sadly. Their plan was now in motion; it was time for the Paradox to pay for killing Miranda.
Dimension: My Little Pony
Planet: Equestria Earth
Specific Location: Ponyville
Time: A month after the death of Miranda, 1005 years after the defeat of Nightmare Moon
"How the hell am I supposed to help Cadence explain to Shining Armor that she had been captured and been replaced with an impostor?! It's been one month now and Shining Armor still is really confused!" said Sunset with frustration in his voice.
"Look, Sunset," sighed Flaming Star, "Normally I would love to help you brainstorm out a problem, but right now, if I move, Rarity will have my head. She's been working on my suit for days now."
"That's right, the wedding… Anyway, I am very happy for you, but Equestria is still in an absolute state of confusion. I mean, we have no idea how many of those Elite Phasetroopers have been taking guises of important ponies. I even heard Prince Blue Blood accusing Fancy Pants of being one! And heaven knows the trouble Shadow Scepter and Corona Oscura are going through right now!"
"Well, I suppose we've reached an impasse then. If I go off now and help you, you'll be happy, but then Rarity will have me executed at dawn. If I stay here, she'll be happy and I'll live. I don't really know, I want to be alive for my wedding."
Sunset sighed and then chuckled. "Okay, okay, you've got me there. I remember when the same happened to me. You stay here, I'll continue to see what I can do to help out. However, the moment you're done, come and find me. I will be meeting with the Brothers in Arms corps. And please do hurry, they will be leaving soon."
"Wait, what!?" exclaimed Flaming Star, who turned his head ever so slightly to glance at Sunset.
"I HOPE YOU'RE NOT MOVING IN THERE FLAMING STAR!" exclaimed Rarity from the other room. Immediately both he and Sunset froze.
"What?" said Flaming Star in a quieter voice, "What do you mean they're leaving?"
"They made their decision this morning: they're going to return to their base in the Looking For Group dimension so they can begin their operations against the demons and the Paradox."
"Huh, that sounds like a tall order."
"I suppose so, but Daniel seems fairly confident. Anyways, I'm out. Talk to you later."
With that, Sunset trotted out of Flaming Star's house and back to his house next door.
Flaming Star pulled a face as Rarity trotted in with a whole pile of different measuring devices and said, "Well, now that I've gotten these, I can begin!"
Sunset shook his head as he heard an audible groan from inside Flaming Star's house and chuckled as he entered his house and closed the door. He went to the living room where Franklin was sitting, talking to Daniel who had stuck his head through the window.
"So, Sunset, do we have any definite plans yet?" said Franklin to Sunset as he entered the room.
Sunset shook his head. "I'm not sure. We really need more information, and a lot of it. Twilight, Flaming Star, Princess Celestia, and I have spent hours going over the tree of Harmony, and we haven't begun to figure out how it works, or how its controls work."
"Well then, why don't we just destroy it? Kill it with fire!" exclaimed Franklin.
Sunset shook his head vigorously. "We can't 'kill it with fire' either, Franklin," he said, "The thing has become tied to this dimension. If we destroy it, there is a good chance that this planet, and probably the whole universe, will collapse upon itself."
"So, the Paradox created an un-destroyable weapon, clever," said Daniel.
"Technically it IS destroyable, it's just that countless innocents will die if we do," sighed Franklin. Every time he said the word 'innocents,' his mind flashbacked to Miranda's death, something that pained him a lot each time.
"Could we evacuate everyone from this dimension and then bring it down?" suggested Daniel.
Sunset shook his head vigorously again. "That wouldn't work. Over 7 billion ponies, dragons, buffalo, donkeys, griffons, and who knows what else live here. We could never get them all out. And even if we did, what dimension in their right mind would except that many refugees? And would anyone be safe even if they did? No, we have to find another way."
"Could we destroy a different harmony unit?" asked Franklin.
"Yes… that might work!" exclaimed Daniel, "if we're lucky, there might be another dimension that isn't as secure or heavily populated."
"Or filled with loved ones," added Sunset. He then nodded, "You guys have a point."
"So," said Franklin, leaning in close, "What are the other three dimensions that have harmony units? Flaming Star planted one, right? Do you know where it is?"
Suddenly Flaming Star himself trotted in, looking a little flustered. A common reaction for those ponies who had to go through the clothes-making process with Rarity.
"What? Who? Do I know where what is?" he asked, shaking his head as if trying to clear it.
"The other harmony units, do you know where the other two are? The database spoke of the units, but I can't find orange juice on the locations of any of them. We only know that one is here because we discovered it," explained Franklin.
Flaming Star nodded slowly. "I rarely spoke of mine… but yes, I know where it is."
The group leaned in close.
"It's in the Winnie the Pooh dimension," Flaming Star explained, "I chose that place because it was sparsely inhabited, calm, and tranquil. The creatures living there deserved a peaceful life."
"Sparsely inhabited, you say?" said Franklin, stroking his chin, "Could we, perchance, blow up the harmony unit there?"
"No way," said Flaming Star, "The inhabitants there are too innocent. They wouldn't survive outside their bubble; I won't let you do it."
"A lot of people are going to do if we don't," replied Daniel.
"And if we do, we'll still be murderers. Cold, heartless murderers. We aren't gods, we cannot force those innocents outside of their home," said Flaming Star evenly.
"And what if we let them live?" continued Daniel, "If we let them live, everyone else, including them will die anyway. We have no right to deny the chance for countless lives to live by not destroying that harmony unit."
"Woooaaahhh… slow down there guys," said Sunset, "Let's not start this again. Anyways, we have no idea what will happen if we disable the other harmony units. There is a chance that they would continue to function. The real issue is this dimension's harmony unit, the control."
"We really need more information," agreed Flaming Star, giving Daniel a warning glance.
"Yeah, information we don't have, and might never get," retorted Franklin.
"Well, where is the third harmony unit, then, Flaming Star?" said Sunset.
Flaming Star opened his mouth, and then closed it again. Then he opened it again, and then closed it again. He blinked. "Um… I have no idea."
Franklin facepalmed. "What do you mean by, 'I have no idea?' What of the guy who placed that harmony unit? Did he say anything about its whereabouts? A hint maybe? An innuendo? Something?"
Flaming Star thought about it for a moment, then shook his head slowly.
"Um… no…" he said, "The guy who placed the third harmony unit, the Crystal of Harmony, was named Gagan Enosson. He was the brother of Dathan Enosson, or as we know him, Regal Crescent. He was an eccentric person. He came regularly to the meeting place where we gathered to discuss the harmony units, but never said anything. Then, the day after we had all confirmed we had chosen a location and placed our respective harmony units, he disappeared without a word. Dathan searched for him for at least a century, but eventually gave up hope. According to the Paradox, the unit was most certainly placed, but Gagan simply had vanished after his task was done."
"Well… that's… interesting," said Franklin slowly, "Is there a way we can find out where he put it?"
Flaming Star thought hard and long. A full ten minutes of silence passed before Flaming Star looked up.
He sighed. "This may sound outrageous," he explained, almost apologetically, "But I think there may be only one way to find the location."
"Outrageous or not, we have no choice, what is it?" replied Daniel briskly.
"You guys need to find the Bookkeeper… You will have to find Finnian Jones," said Flaming Star slowly.
Franklin, for the first time in a month, burst out laughing. However, it really didn't count much as a laugh, because it was somewhat derisive.
"Very funny," he said, "Everyone ever knows that Finnian Jones doesn't exist."
"I hate to agree with Franklin," said Daniel, "But I believe he's right. There is no such person as Finnian Jones. The Paradox himself said that person didn't exist when Bastian Junior Bux approached him about it."
"No, he's real," persisted Flaming Star, "He is as real as you and me. I know, I met him once."
Sunset, who had kept quiet up to this point, then said, "Waitwaitwaitwaitwait… You actually MET the Bookkeeper?"
Flaming Star nodded. "Only once, and it was only for a couple of minutes. It was in a small bookshop somewhere in Iowa in Earth Prime, 1998 A.D."
"I don't know… if the Paradox said he didn't exist, then I really think he didn't exist," said Franklin.
"The Paradox was lying," snapped Flaming Star. He then sighed and said, in gentler tones, "Look, this is really our only shot at finding a way to stop the Paradox's plan. What you guys need to do now is go off and find as many good travelers as you can. Now that we know that our personal traveler databases have been tampered with by someone, probably the Paradox, we know there is a good chance that there are plenty of other dimensional travelers out there who think they're the only good guys alive. You need to seek them out. Assemble them, and ask them if they know of Finnian Jones's whereabouts. While you are all out doing that, Sunset and I will be trying to figure out what the Paradox's next moves are, and if there is a way to disable the harmony units without destroying them."
"Well, it sounds like we have the easy part, because I know the Paradox is a WHOLE lot smarter than the lot of us put together," said Franklin, getting up, "Anyways, I suppose we should be off as soon as possible. I hate goodbyes. Where is Night Shade?"
"I'm here," came a voice. They turned around to see Night Shade, followed by Scootaloo and her parents.
"Oh, um, hi Scootaloo," said Daniel, "Are these your parents?"
Scootaloo nodded and gave Daniel a huge smile, "Yep. What are you guys doing?"
"Well…" said Franklin, looking a little uncomfortable, "We're about to leave the dimension."
Daniel nodded and turned to Night Shade. "Night Shade," he said, "We need to go. Flaming Star believes that Finnian Jones, the Bookkeeper, exists, and he wants us to assemble all the good travelers left to find him."
"Brothers in Arms unite, eh?" said Franklin.
He then turned to Daniel and was about to remark about them leaving after lunch when Night Shade said, "I'm not going."
Franklin froze, he then slowly turned around. "What?" he said incredulously.
Night Shade sighed. "I'm not going with you guys," he repeated slowly.
Daniel shook his head. "What do you mean by that?" he asked, "What are you doing?"
"I've been adopted… By Scootaloo and her family," he said.
"That… that doesn't make any sense," said Franklin, his face looking pained.
"You were a powerful part of our team, Night Shade," said Daniel, "How many battles have we won because of you? Hundreds?"
"That's the reason why I don't want to go with you guys," said Night Shade, "No more fighting."
Franklin blanched as if the phrase "no more fighting" was something of a curse. "What?" was all he managed to say.
"I'm an 11-year-old for heaven's sake!" exclaimed Night Shade, his face distraught, "I am a child! I shouldn't have done a hundredth of any of the things I've done! But you know what? It's over, I'm through. I am going to settle down here, with ponies who love me, and friends who love me. I am going to lead a normal life, away from war and death. All I want now is… is a family."
He then glanced at Scootaloo and her family. Night Shade's new mother gave him a kiss on the cheek.
Daniel sighed, "I understand. I guess this is goodbye then, Night Shade."
Night Shade nodded, his eyes tearing up a bit. "Goodbye, Daniel… Goodbye Franklin."
Franklin, who had originally looked a tad bit shocked, smiled gently. He got down on one knee and gave the black Pegasus a tight hug. "Take care, kiddo, Ponyville is a big place."
"YOU guys are the ones who need to be careful," said Night Shade with a chuckle.
Daniel simply looked at Night Shade with kindness radiating from his eyes. "Goodbye Night Shade. We will miss you, but rest assured: we will be back to visit one day."
Night Shade smiled. He let go of Franklin and took a step back. Night Shade's new father placed a hoof on his shoulder, and Scootaloo hugged Night Shade.
Daniel pulled his head out of the window and Franklin climbed through. Then Daniel opened a portal to their safe house in the Looking For Group dimension and stepped through. The portal closed and they were gone.
Night Shade hugged his new family tightly as he fought down his emotions.
Flaming Star smiled at the sight. "And I'm getting married!" he sighed, almost dreamily.
Sunset gave the firstborn a side-long glance and chuckled.
"Well," Sunset said, "I'm going to my backyard to garden, you might as well go off and do whatever it is the firstborn does."
"I'm going to find Twilight, tell her I love her, and give her a huge kiss," replied Flaming Star as he trotted outside his house after Night Shade and his family.
"I think I'll check the garden, then the chickens…" muttered Sunset to himself as he went into the spacious backyard with Angel the bunny on his back, "Then I think I will pay Night Shade a visit. It's nice to see a kid like him being able to enjoy life without having to worry about being slaughtered by demons."
He was about to begin to adjust a couple of the birdhouses when a crackling noise echoed from behind him. A portal was opening, and it sure as hell wasn't Daniel's or Franklin's portal.
Charging up a hoof with plasma, Sunset whirled to face the portal. The sight he saw caused him to stumble backwards, fall over, and discharge the blast harmlessly into the sky: A being who looked just like the Paradox was exiting the portal in front of him. He was a little taller than the Paradox, but was a little less broad. He too wore white body armor with a masked helmet like the Paradox when he had shifted out of his light-radiating form. His visor was that of an open flame, glowing red. Bands of red and purple ran down his arms.
"Who… who are you?" stuttered Sunset, not able to compose himself.
"Who, me? Oh… I'm Doxia, or as Miranda called me, the Light Man. Pleased to meet you, kiddo," said the being cheerfully. He helped Sunset to all fours. He then bowed with a flourish.
"Are you part of the Paradox's brotherhood?" asked Sunset warily as he finally got a hold of his emotions.
"Was," corrected Doxia, "I'm what you call a defector really. You know how Twilight and the rest of those ponies were freed? That was me."
Sunset stuttered. He opened his mouth, but all he managed to say was, "Why?"
Doxia chuckled. "Why? Because the Paradox and his brotherhood, the Enigma Empire, are absolute lunatics. They think they can play God and kill everyone because they believe it is the right thing to do. Well, I thought otherwise. We are not all pawns waiting to die at a word."
"Then you were the one who gave me the coordinates to the portal-blocking technology! You were the one who comforted Miranda and gave her all that information!"
"I was. Her mind was very unstable, and made it easy for me to enter it. I saw it as the only way to inconspicuously talk to you guys. All forms of instantaneous travel have been monitored by the Enigma Empire since the plan went into motion eight thousand years ago."
"Wow… Just… Wow…"
"I know right? Well, anyways, I am going to chill here a bit. The Enigma Empire is out for my head as of yet, but they cannot follow me here. This place is too important to their plan... And besides, they all think I'm in the Star Trek dimension, pretending to be part of the Q Continuum."
"That's right… the plan. Could you… could you tell me about it?"
"Tell you about it? Why heck yes! I was the right hand man of the Paradox! I know every bit. Tell you what, you get me a glass of lemonade, and I will tell you everything."
"Okay…"
"Alrighty!"
Note: Where were all my immediate reviews? Was "Pyrrhic Victory" THAT anticlimactic? Just kidding. Anyways, I wanted to let you guys know that I will be releasing the guide probably on Monday, if not Friday. Now hit me with some feedback! Oh, and what do you guys think of Samuel?